Zegna Group’s first financial report as a public company was greeted warmly by investors.
Shares of the fashion firm rose by 7.3 percent to $11.30 in afterhours trading Wednesday on the strength of its 2021 results and a projection calling for continued growth.
Ermenegildo “Gildo” Zegna, chairman and chief executive officer, said: “2021 was an epic year for the Zegna Group, and I am very proud of the journey that has brought us here today. I am also especially proud that we continue to achieve significant milestones while staying true to our roots and the heritage of sustainability my grandfather instilled in the company 111 years ago.”
The company posted losses of 128 million euros for the year, but that was due to non-cash accounting items, including a 205-million euro adjustment related to the SPAC merger that gave Zegna its entry to Wall Street in December.
Adjusted profits totaled 75 million euros.
Revenues increased 27 percent to 1.3 billion euros, with Zegna revenues rising 23 percent to 1 billion euros and Thom Browne growing 47 percent to 264 million euros.
The CEO also said he was “deeply saddened by the tragic events in Ukraine” and that the company committed to integrate as many as 30 Ukrainian refugees into its factories starting next month.
While the company is following the crisis with “great concern,” Zegna is also keeping his eye on the longer term.
This year, the company is looking for revenues to grow by a percentage in the low-teens with continued improvement in adjusted earnings before interest and taxes.
“Ours is a multiyear journey and as we continue to monitor the ongoing developments of the COVID-19 pandemic around the world, especially the recent spike in China, we are already ahead of our plan and remain positive about our growth in 2022,” Zegna said. “I am particularly excited to see our U.S. and United Arab Emirates business continue to grow while our business in Europe continues to see a post-lockdown rebound. We remain vigilant, but our 2021 results and our flexibility give me confidence that we are on the right track to reaching the targets set out in our plan last year and the group’s longer-term ambitions even sooner than we anticipated.”
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